Chaplains of the
36th Infantry Division
by
Chaplain (Colonel) Herbert E. MacCombie
Division Chaplain
Chaplain Replacements, Service Statistics
And Decorations
Chaplain Murphy
had a fine sense of humor. It was a great help in serving the Clearing
Station and the attached Field Hospital. When he first reported for duty
I went to meet him at Naples. He was wearing one of the most scraggly
beards I had ever seen. When I brought him to the bivouac area I asked
Chaplain Roemer to question him about the beard. I thought that he might
belong to some order about which I knew nothing.
It was my duty to
introduce him to G1. Our chaplains had always tried to measure up to the
highest impression. Presently he came and asked to borrow a razor. It
seems that while he was on the transport, he got acquainted with a Jewish
chaplain who sported a long beard. When Chaplain Murphy commented on the
beard, the Jewish chaplain accused him of being jealous, because he
couldn’t grow one like it. Chaplain Murphy decided to prove that he
could. In my judgment he didn’t have much success, but he did have a lot
of fun.
When the Field
Hospital was shelled by the Germans, I asked Chaplain Murphy how the
nurses took it.
He replied, “When
I got up off the ground, they were still doing their work.”
Despite our best
efforts there were times when we were under strength. In January 1944 we
had only twelve chaplains present for duty. During that year we lost four
chaplains through evacuation to the hospitals who were classified as
physically unfit for combat duty. In addition we had three chaplains who
spent from one to five months in the hospital. Nevertheless our chaplains
held 1,610 Sunday services with an attendance of 119,321. Because of
combat conditions men could not always attend Sunday service. So we held
2,793 Week Day religious services with an attendance of 62,067.
The record of our
graveside burial services was as follows:
| 1943 |
|
1,153 |
| 1944 |
|
4,037 |
| 1945 |
|
924 |
| Total |
|
6,114 |
This total
included many men from attached units, and units that were fighting
alongside the 36th Division.
I do
not have a complete record of the decorations that were awarded our
chaplains, but I do know that as of September 1944 three chaplains had
received Silver Star medals and four chaplains had received Bronze Star
medals.
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Copyright 2001
by Mary MacCombie Fietsam
Printed by Permission |
